Gangway floor for a gangway between a first car of a multi-car vehicle and a second car of said vehicle

Abstract

A gangway floor for a gangway between a first car of a multi-car vehicle and a second car of said vehicle comprises a first floor panel and a second floor panel, wherein the first floor panel is arranged to rotate about a first axis that does not lie in the plane that the first floor panel lies in, and the second floor panel is arranged to rotate about a second axis that does not lie in the plane that the second floor panel lies in, wherein the first axis is different from the second axis.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A gangway to be arranged between a first car of a multi-car vehicle and a second car of said vehicle, the gangway comprising:
 a gangway floor having a first floor panel and a second floor panel, wherein the first floor panel is arranged to rotate about a first axis that does not lie in the plane that the first floor panel lies in, and the second floor panel is arranged to rotate about a second axis that does not lie in the plane that the second floor panel lies in, wherein the first axis is different from the second axis; and 
 a panel that is connected to the gangway floor by means of a joint that allows swivel movements about two axes that are perpendicularly arranged to one another. 
 
     
     
       2. The gangway according to  claim 1 , wherein the first floor panel is arranged inside a cut-out provided in a neighbouring floor panel next the first floor panel and arranged to rotate about the first axis inside the cut-out relative to the neighbouring floor panel, wherein the first floor panel and/or the cut-out has the shape of a sector of a circle or the shape of a segment of a circle or the shape of the segment of a ring. 
     
     
       3. The gangway according to  claim 1 , wherein the first floor panel is connected to the second floor panel by at least a third panel. 
     
     
       4. The gangway according to  claim 3 , wherein the third panel is flexibly connected to the first panel to allow linear and/or rotational movements of the third panel relative to the first panel. 
     
     
       5. The gangway according  claim 3 , wherein the third panel has a rectangular shape. 
     
     
       6. The gangway according to  claim 5 , wherein a multitude of rectangular floor panels are provided in parallel to one another each rectangular floor panel being attached both to the first floor panel and the second floor panel. 
     
     
       7. The gangway according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the panels of the gangway floor is made from rubber, or rubber reinforced by metal objects and/or reinforced by textile fabric. 
     
     
       8. The gangway according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the panels of the gangway floor is made from an elastic material other than rubber, or is made from metal. 
     
     
       9. The gangway according to  claim 1 , wherein the panel has a central section with an arch-shaped cross section in the horizontal plane and the panel has end sections that in the same cross section are arch-shaped with a curvature opposite to the arch-shape of the central section. 
     
     
       10. The gangway according to  claim 1 , wherein the first car has a side-wall and wherein the side-wall bends inwards at the end of the first car, wherein an end section of the panel of the gangway contacts the side-wall in a region inward of the inwardly bent end of the side-wall inward towards a middle of the car in the longitudinal direction of the car when the first and the second car are aligned in a straight line, and wherein the end section of the panel contacts the inwardly bent end of the side-wall in at least one operational mode of the multi-car vehicle in which the first car and the second car are not aligned in a straight line, but arranged at an angle to one another. 
     
     
       11. A multi-car vehicle comprising:
 a first car and a second car; 
 a gangway arranged between the first car and the second car and having a gangway floor having a first floor panel and a second floor panel, wherein the first floor panel is arranged to rotate about a first axis that does not lie in the plane that the first floor panel lies in, and the second floor panel is arranged to rotate about a second axis that does not lie in the plane that the second floor panel lies in, wherein the first axis is different from the second axis; and a panel that is connected to the gangway floor by means of a joint that allows swivel movements about at least one axis, wherein the first car is connected to the second car by a connection device and wherein the gangway floor is at least partially supported in the vertical direction by a support device arranged between a part of the connection device and a part of the gangway floor, wherein the first car has a side-wall and wherein the side-wall bends inwards at the end of the first car, wherein an end section of the panel of the gangway contacts the side-wall in a region inward of the inwardly bent end of the side-wall inward towards a middle of the car in the longitudinal direction of the car when the first and the second car are aligned in a straight line, and wherein the end section of the panel contacts the inwardly bent end of the side-wall in at least one operational mode of the multi-car vehicle in which the first car and the second car are not aligned in a straight line, but arranged at an angle to one another. 
 
     
     
       12. The multi car vehicle according to  claim 11 , wherein the panel that is connected to the gangway floor by means of a joint allows swivel movements about two axes that are perpendicularly arranged to one another. 
     
     
       13. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 11 , wherein the connection device has at least three parts, a first part of the at least three parts configured to rotate relative to a second part of the three parts about the first axis, and wherein the second part of the three parts is configured to rotate relative to a third part of the three parts about the second axis. 
     
     
       14. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 11 , wherein a radius of the inwardly bent end of the first car equals half the width of the first car. 
     
     
       15. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 11 , wherein a surface of the side-wall that is contacted by the end section of the panel is adapted to allow sliding between the end section and the panel with reduced friction. 
     
     
       16. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 11 , wherein the first floor panel is arranged inside a cut-out provided in a neighbouring floor panel next to the first floor panel and arranged to rotate about the first axis inside the cut-out relative to the neighbouring floor panel, wherein the first floor panel and/or the cut-out has the shape of a sector of a circle or the shape of a segment of a circle or the shape of the segment of a ring. 
     
     
       17. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 11 , wherein the first floor panel is connected to the second floor panel by at least a third panel. 
     
     
       18. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 17 , wherein the third panel is flexibly connected to the first panel to allow linear and/or rotational movements of the third panel relative to the first panel. 
     
     
       19. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 17 , wherein the third panel has a rectangular shape. 
     
     
       20. The multi-car vehicle according to  claim 19 , wherein a multitude of rectangular floor panels are provided in parallel to one another, each rectangular floor panel being attached both to the first floor panel and the second floor panel.